Public school vs Private school vs Home school

[zug]

I did a search and couldn't find a topic that covered this.

I have read that quite a few people in xkcd would send their children to public school, even if private school were affordable and just as available to them. My question is, what type of school would you send your children to (or did send them to, if you already have children)? Which type of school did you go to? And if you could change the type of education you received, where would you have preferred to go?

I wish I could have received a secular private education for rly smrt kdz since I was pretty smart and got bullied before I got to high school (where my band section leader was a beefy senior and could beat up the people who did so, the threat of which was enough to stop it ), but I went to public school since my family was poor and nothing else was ever an option.

[mochafairy]

for me, it really depends on many factors. It depends on the child, the actual school...for me i also factor in medical stuff, such as how good the nurse is, what I am allowed and not allowed to do for myself medically in a class room, how well the staff is trained to deal with medical episodes, and the like.

On a purely academic basis, most secular private schools have it made. If we include the medical basis, then everyone fails equally and it feels like a snipe hunt to find a decent school. You'd be surprised...

I went to religious private school from k-6th grade (for those not in the US, that's from ~5-~12), a charter school for 2 years, public school for another 3, and then went to my local university for my senior year in high school. I'm currently at a public university in a different state, and I both love and hate it. The education is wonderful, but I have to tip toe through my medical issues, since most don't want to understand.

As far as my pre-uni days, the most academically stimulating I had was in 6th grade at a private religious school. They taught to the top of the class, which was me, and I loved every minute of the academia. Unfortunately, I had no life.

When I have children and send them off to school, it will depend on the child, what we can afford, and what the schools have to offer.

[Velict]

I went to a public school that occasionally makes top 100 national rankings for its academic programs, and there isn't anywhere else in my state that I would have preferred to go to. A few out-of-state private schools would have been preferable (schools along the lines of Andover and Exeter), but overall, my education was very good.

That said, Secular private education tends to be much higher quality than public school education, I think. If there wasn't a very good public school where I lived, I wouldn't hesitate to find a good private school for my child and send him/her there. If he/she were particularly gifted, I would definitely try to send them to the best school I could, public or private. The key factor for me, as you may have noticed, is the school's academic rigor.

[zug]

Mocha, when you say a medical basis, do you mean being able to take ibuprofen and prescription meds without having to go to the school nurse for it? I can understand why schools are so leery of that, what with the prevalence of drugs and their duties in loco parentis. Or did you mean something else?

[OmenPigeon]

I went to a secular private school for all four years of high school, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to send any of my hypothetical offspring there or someplace similar. I know personally it was really, really good for me to start living away from my parent's house during high school. It wasn't a bad home environment by any means, but living somewhat independently and separate from my parents was developmentally valuable, I think. I know thats really vague, but it's quite late and I'm all out of beer. Because I drank it.

Four years of boarding school made the first semester or so of college much easier, too. While lots of other kids were figuring out how to cope being away from home for the first time, the biggest thing I dealt with my first week was figuring out where the laundry was.

Of course, I wouldn't simply pack these imaginary spawn off to boarding school without their consent, but there are definite advantages to private high schools beyond whatever academic cred they have.

[mochafairy]

having so many medical conditions...where do I start?
In may schools, diabetic children are not allowed to check their blood glucose levels in the classroom. Having a child walk to the nurses' office to check is the stupidest idea ever. If a diabetic child has a low glucose level, they often aren't allowed to eat in the classroom to correct. If they have a high glucose level, they often aren't allowed to take insulin to bring it down. They are them blamed and ridiculed for "acting out" when their blood glucose levels aren't within the normal range. diabetic children also are often prevented from using the restroom or drinking water because they are so obviously just doing drugs. When a diabetic has high glucose levels, drinking water helps lessen the levels by having them just pee it out, which means that not allowing the child to drink water or use the restroom is medically endangering the child.
For example, when I have a low sugar level, I become insanely giddy, until the point where I'm yelled at for being giddy, and then I shut down and stop responding. I have been yelled at countless times because, for starters, I couldn't eat to correct, and then giggling uncontrollably, and then not responding when i'm being yelled at for giggling. the whole issue could have been avoided if they would've just let me eat my disgusting glucose tabs. When I have a high sugar, I am incredibly irritable, to the point where I generally avoid people because I have come close to beating people with chairs. Since my pump makes noise when i take insulin for a high glucose level, i often get yelled at for having a cell phone, no matter how many times I have explained the situation to the professor/teacher. Everyone freaks out if I whip out a syringe and give myself a shot in the middle of class or an exam, so that's out of the option.
Professors and teachers and even the nurses at schools are incredibly ignorant of how to handle the situations involving the complications that arise with having this disease. I have been told I will fail a class if my insulin pump sounds an alarm in the middle of an exam, no excuses. Of course I could take this up with the dean and fight it, but by the time it finally gets through, it will have been a couple of semesters and I could've just sucked it up and retaken the class by then.

Another condition is sinusoidal tachycardia. At random times, my pulse jumps from normal to 200 (and in one case, ~300). We haven't found a trigger to it. This makes classes, especially things like PE, incredibly problematic. "What do you mean you can't run the mile right now?" uh...pulse is slightly over 3 beats/second...meaning pulse is over 180. blood pressure has dropped, I can't even stand, we haven't even started, and you expect me to run a mile? The medication I'm on for tachycardia sometimes leads to random drops in blood pressure which leave me gasping for breath, where I literally am gulping in air and it doesn't seem to do anything. This is not helpful when taking exams or in the middle of class.

Of course, I also whine about my chronic migraines and other, much more common medical issues. It makes no sense to send a child who is incredibly light and sound sensitive to the nurse (if your school is lucky enough to have one!) to take their migraine medication.

There's also the stigmas that the administration, teachers, and professors create when you ask to be put on a 504 plan when you need it. "Well, obviously this person isn't any good because we have to make exceptions for them to preform like a normal person!" You are labeled as weak to get the things you need in an academic environment to survive.

So, yes, I will take into account the state, county, and city laws as well as school board rules and regulations and insisting on meeting with the staff before my child enters school if my child has conditions that warrant it. (there's no sense in going on a crusade if the worst the kid gets is a cold)

Although, I also find it abhorrent what children have to go through to take a simple aspirin, though, not all school systems are over reacting...students being selfish idiots have ruined it for everyone.

Sorry, that was really long.

[Bearboy]

In my area you have stock standard public schools(Some claim to be different. My school is officially a technical highschool because of our badarse IA building), private schools either Catholic, Jewish or anyform of christian and certain selective public schools.

The selective schools are your best bet for a good education. I managed to get into the "best" one in the area but I didn't go because of the distance to travel and the fact that I would be the only white guy there surrounded by unsocial nerds and my life would be controlled by the school.

Private schools are your next bet, but if your kid is a toolbag then its a waste of money. Most of the local private schools focuse heavily on sport and the kids which go there have a serious ego problem thinking their better than regular public school kids . If your child will work the extra resources will help greatly here.

Then your standard public school. Like the private schools if your kid will do the work they will be just fine. If they have 2 braincels they get put in a higher class with less of the wannabe gangsters and distractions and you do get a core group of intelligent, hardworking people(Nerds ) which usually outperform most private school students(Thank god for state wide tests. Without those I wouldn't be able to tell my private school friends that their school sucks ) and qite alot of the selective school students. My friends and I apply for selective schools every year just to see if we are "Up to par" with them and each year we manage to get a spot but decline because we like it better here.

[TheGuyWithTheHat]

School dosen't make any difference to your intelligence at all, if you're intelligent then you're intelligent. All school does is tell you things which you can look up online anyway. I say the whole schooling system should be replaced by the internet, if people bully you then you can just block them too!

[douglasm]

It depends very much on the individual person, schools, and circumstances. My sister is homeschooling her kids, and for her and them I think that is the best possible choice. Very few schools would be able to handle these kids as they should be handled, as they are very far outside the norm (my entire family got National Merit scholarships as a matter of routine, and though my sister's oldest is only 6 it is already very obvious they all inherited that intelligence), and my sister has made raising and teaching her kids her full time job. Most people don't have the time, inclination, and skill to do a proper job of homeschooling, though, and most kids don't need as much custom handling as my niece and nephews do.

I wouldn't hesitate at all to send a typical child to the public high school I graduated from, but it's one of the best in the state. There are some public schools out there I would spend considerable effort and money to avoid. For private schools, the low end is probably better but I'd still want to research specific schools before sending any child of mine to one.

[Thor]

School dosen't make any difference to your intelligence at all, if you're intelligent then you're intelligent. All school does is tell you things which you can look up online anyway. I say the whole schooling system should be replaced by the internet, if people bully you then you can just block them too!

Online classes maybe (and even then maybe not so much for foreign languages) but a good teacher is still incredibly valuable.

[sje46]

So. . .how are the kids in private schools?

I dunno what my high school was. Wikipedia tells me that

It is the largest independent academy in the United States,[citation needed] serving roughly 3,600 students as the high school (grades 9 - 12) for the communities of Derry, Hampstead and Chester and Auburn. The Academy is a private non-profit corporation administered by a Headmaster, who in turn acts under the direction of an elected twelve member Board of Trustees.

So it's a non-profit corporation, I suppose, which would make it technically a private school. I have always heard it called a
"semi-public school". Our towns paid for all of our tuitions for this corporation, so I guess that is what makes it semi-public?
Anyways, for all intents and purposes, it is a public school. No prayer, no uniforms, no dorms, not incredibly strict. It was, in fact, on a campus, with about 9 different major academic buildings, and nine other smaller buildings too. . .all of which relatively small, of course, not college buildings, but still. It was a closed campus, though. It had the same type of people as any public school in white upper-middle-class new england. Stoners, skaters, goths, preppy kids, etc etc.
So yeah, I went to a public school, and I liked it, and I kinda felt that if someone a little more normal went, then its a good place to foster social relationships. I kinda don't want my kid to be around only rich kids. . .he needs to be exposed to gangsters and goths and even the special needs kids. Maybe private schools have those too, I dunno.

[TheGuyWithTheHat]

School dosen't make any difference to your intelligence at all, if you're intelligent then you're intelligent. All school does is tell you things which you can look up online anyway. I say the whole schooling system should be replaced by the internet, if people bully you then you can just block them too!

Online classes maybe (and even then maybe not so much for foreign languages) but a good teacher is still incredibly valuable.

A system where you could have send messages to someone, or have a live chat thing, could be just as handy.

[achan1058]

I say anything but religious private school, at least the fanatical ones. If they are going to teach creationism, it's not even a school but a church in my opinion.

[Pez Dispens3r]

True story: private schooling works differently in Australia compared to most places.

Australia was young as a modern state in the late nineteenth-century, and all schooling was religious for a time. The government funded these religious schools for lack of their own (except for in one state, South Australia, the "not-a-convict-colony-state", where religious schools always funded themselves). Because of inefficiencies (Lutheran schools wouldn't open where they were needed, so much as open near a Catholic school to compete for believers) the government eventually pulled funding on all the religious schools and put it towards secular (public) schools. However (this is the interesting bit), in the sixties all the schools were overcrowded, secular and religious alike. The religious schools, struggling under the pressure, asked for government funding. One or two Catholic schools may have even deliberately closed down, just to demonstrate how much they were needed (the public schools didn't have enough room as it were, and couldn't deal with the influx if the Catholic schools shut their doors). The government decided to throw funding at religious and secular schools alike, and things stayed that way. Therefore, you'll get maybe 40% of Australians coming through non-secular schools, and the rest public. I'm told that's disproportionate to most places.

[Nlelith]

School dosen't make any difference to your intelligence at all, if you're intelligent then you're intelligent. All school does is tell you things which you can look up online anyway. I say the whole schooling system should be replaced by the internet, if people bully you then you can just block them too!

Online classes maybe (and even then maybe not so much for foreign languages) but a good teacher is still incredibly valuable.

A system where you could have send messages to someone, or have a live chat thing, could be just as handy.

You underestimate the importance of face-to-face communication.

[TheGuyWithTheHat]

School dosen't make any difference to your intelligence at all, if you're intelligent then you're intelligent. All school does is tell you things which you can look up online anyway. I say the whole schooling system should be replaced by the internet, if people bully you then you can just block them too!

Online classes maybe (and even then maybe not so much for foreign languages) but a good teacher is still incredibly valuable.

A system where you could have send messages to someone, or have a live chat thing, could be just as handy.

You underestimate the importance of face-to-face communication.

Webcams.

[Nlelith]

You underestimate the importance of face-to-face communication.

Webcams.

That helps, but it's still not the same thing.

I think I would like to try the unschooling method described by Jauss in the homeschooling thread, if I end up having the time.

[Secateurs]

Australian here, so pretty much read what Pez Dispens3r said above first.
I go to a religious private school, and it's awesome. I'm told that it's less focussed on religion than other schools similar to it. We have religious education once a cycle, and we learn (without noticeable bias) about other religions, and the customs/beliefs/origins of each. Then we have chapel once a cycle, with the focus on values and attitudes helped along by readings/hymns/prayers. But pretty much you can attend our school without having to follow any religion at all - as long as you show a respect for everyone's opinions, you're fine.
On the education side, I couldn't really ask for much more. Some of the teachers are... questionable, but I think it's probably better than anything I'd get at my local (public) high school, so I try not to complain.
Then I know that I'm better off on the social side. Most of my primary school 'friends' went to that public school, so I was more than happy to find myself at a school where performing well academically didn't immediately isolate you from the other kids.

That being said, though, there are a few public schools around which offer what's probably a perfectly good education. And it really does depend on the kid - I wouldn't have done well at a public high school, but you get people who thrive under that system.

[sje46]

I say anything but religious private school, at least the fanatical ones. If they are going to teach creationism, it's not even a school but a church in my opinion.

Yeah, same here. Even if it is a very liberal school, one that barely teaches religion at all, I don't want my kid in that environment. Not saying that he would be abused, or anything. But he would be going to a place where most of his peers and most of the authority figures hold religion as an important part of their lives, and will probably talk about these ideas as if they were facts a lot more than the kid would encounter in a public high school in secular new england. If he decides when he's older (maybe when he is about 13) that he wants to go to a religious school, I guess I might allow it.

Australian here, so pretty much read what Pez Dispens3r said above first.
I go to a religious private school, and it's awesome. I'm told that it's less focussed on religion than other schools similar to it. We have religious education once a cycle, and we learn (without noticeable bias) about other religions, and the customs/beliefs/origins of each. Then we have chapel once a cycle, with the focus on values and attitudes helped along by readings/hymns/prayers. But pretty much you can attend our school without having to follow any religion at all - as long as you show a respect for everyone's opinions, you're fine.
On the education side, I couldn't really ask for much more. Some of the teachers are... questionable, but I think it's probably better than anything I'd get at my local (public) high school, so I try not to complain.
Then I know that I'm better off on the social side. Most of my primary school 'friends' went to that public school, so I was more than happy to find myself at a school where performing well academically didn't immediately isolate you from the other kids.

That being said, though, there are a few public schools around which offer what's probably a perfectly good education. And it really does depend on the kid - I wouldn't have done well at a public high school, but you get people who thrive under that system.

Any focus on religion is too much focus on religion. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, when we stood up for the pledge and said the words "Under God" was too much religion for my tastes. Even if the school is very tolerant, kids will still want to be like all the other kids in the class, and will be very impressionable, and accept God, then possibly religion will become an important part of their identity, so then they can't question it, for their own sanity.
Also, were you the same religion as your school? If you were Christian (I'm assuming you went to a Christian school) you may not have noticed what a Muslim or Jewish or atheist kid have felt.
Performing well isolates you from other kids? Are you sure about that? Maybe the kids who did well just didn't put as much focus on their social lives. Most of the academic acheivers in my school were just as social as anybody else.

[mr_pathetic]

For the most part I prefer public education, sure it's not perfect, but no option is. I think you get more of a sampling of personality from a public school environment than most private and definately home school. This is not to say they don't work, but if you want your kids to experience variety... go public. In any case, a parent's involvement is what makes a difference... learning shouldn't be in just the classroom.

[keeperofdakeys]

I go to a public school in Australia, and we have never actually been formally taught what evolution is; I didn't know what Darwin's theory was until I read it in a book. We were also never taught creationism either. It might have been covered in biology in senior school though, I don't do that one.

My main point is that I only went to a public school because of my older brother, if I had chosen a school I might have gone to a different one, but I'm not sure.

[Pez Dispens3r]

Any focus on religion is too much focus on religion.

Really? Would you object to learning about Greek Mythology in a history class? There's absolutely nothing wrong with studying religion.

[Bearboy]

On the education side, I couldn't really ask for much more. Some of the teachers are... questionable, but I think it's probably better than anything I'd get at my local (public) high school, so I try not to complain.
Then I know that I'm better off on the social side. Most of my primary school 'friends' went to that public school, so I was more than happy to find myself at a school where performing well academically didn't immediately isolate you from the other kids.

What???

You think it is better than your local public school when you haven't experienced your local public school? Great assumption there. Also being socially isolated for doing well? Hell no. Unless this school has 30 people in a year you will always found someone to hang out with(Although some high acheivers might be unsocial).

[sje46]

Any focus on religion is too much focus on religion.

Really? Would you object to learning about Greek Mythology in a history class? There's absolutely nothing wrong with studying religion.

Fair.
I suppose I meant any endorsement of religion in school is too much endorsement. The following, I think, is most likely endorsing religion:

I go to a religious private school, and it's awesome. I'm told that it's less focussed on religion than other schools similar to it. We have religious education once a cycle, and we learn (without noticeable bias) about other religions, and the customs/beliefs/origins of each. Then we have chapel once a cycle, with the focus on values and attitudes helped along by readings/hymns/prayers. But pretty much you can attend our school without having to follow any religion at all - as long as you show a respect for everyone's opinions, you're fine.

Chapel, which focuses on most likely Chrstiain values and attitudes, helped along by readings/hymns, and prayers. Hymns and prayers are certainly an endorsement. And what are they reading? Do you choose what you yourself read?
Also, how often do they say something along the lines of "how God made us" or something like that?
Heck, even a teacher saying "God bless you" is going too far in my opinion.

[zipper-chan]

I go to a non-denominational private school currently. Where I live, this is undoubtedly the best option because of the standard of the school, the general quality of the educators, and the supportive environment in which I am working in whilst at school.

Around where I live, all other schools are public and the students who attend these schools largely are uninterested in anything beyond sex, drugs, dropping out at age 16, and getting on the dole as soon as they can. It depresses me to note that the next generation of voters are going to be an uneducated bunch with little to no interest in anything political.

I believe that ultimately though, it is up to the individual student how well they do in school and whether or not they choose to apply themselves. Regardless of the school, the individual can make the most of it if they choose to, and ignore the way the rest of the masses are squandering their time.

edit; first post!!SHIFT!

[Secateurs]

Australian here, so pretty much read what Pez Dispens3r said above first.
I go to a religious private school, and it's awesome. I'm told that it's less focussed on religion than other schools similar to it. We have religious education once a cycle, and we learn (without noticeable bias) about other religions, and the customs/beliefs/origins of each. Then we have chapel once a cycle, with the focus on values and attitudes helped along by readings/hymns/prayers. But pretty much you can attend our school without having to follow any religion at all - as long as you show a respect for everyone's opinions, you're fine.
On the education side, I couldn't really ask for much more. Some of the teachers are... questionable, but I think it's probably better than anything I'd get at my local (public) high school, so I try not to complain.
Then I know that I'm better off on the social side. Most of my primary school 'friends' went to that public school, so I was more than happy to find myself at a school where performing well academically didn't immediately isolate you from the other kids.

That being said, though, there are a few public schools around which offer what's probably a perfectly good education. And it really does depend on the kid - I wouldn't have done well at a public high school, but you get people who thrive under that system.

Any focus on religion is too much focus on religion. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, when we stood up for the pledge and said the words "Under God" was too much religion for my tastes. Even if the school is very tolerant, kids will still want to be like all the other kids in the class, and will be very impressionable, and accept God, then possibly religion will become an important part of their identity, so then they can't question it, for their own sanity.
Also, were you the same religion as your school? If you were Christian (I'm assuming you went to a Christian school) you may not have noticed what a Muslim or Jewish or atheist kid have felt.
Performing well isolates you from other kids? Are you sure about that? Maybe the kids who did well just didn't put as much focus on their social lives. Most of the academic acheivers in my school were just as social as anybody else.

No, I'm atheist. I find religion interesting, but don't really believe in any of it. Of course, I can't speak for anyone of different religions, and even for other atheists. I don't want to say that I am, just that this is my personal experience - I know that a few people in my year are strongly against the religious studies classes.
Peforming well did isolate me some way or another, yes. I don't know if they acted out of jealousy, or if it was just that I was too 'different' for their tastes, or if I was too serious/focussed on school to them, but that's pretty much what happened.

What???You think it is better than your local public school when you haven't experienced your local public school? Great assumption there. Also being socially isolated for doing well? Hell no. Unless this school has 30 people in a year you will always found someone to hang out with(Although some high acheivers might be unsocial).

Not what I meant, sorry. I really didn't want to start making generalisations about whether private was better than public (because I think that it totally depends on the person, as I said) and definitely didn't want to make assumptions like that - but I realise that what I said really does seem like a huge assumption, though I did just say 'probably'. I'd like to revise what I said by instead saying that the education is pretty well tailored to my needs, and is all I could ask for - having not experienced the local public school, I can't say anything other than the courses that they offer are not the same as what I need to get where I want at uni.

That school had 20 people in a year I see where you're coming from, but I (once again, this was me, personally) had very little in the way of friends, besides an extension class run once a week outside of school.
I'm sorry that my post created so much confusion - I didn't want to snub public schools at all, or say that all private schools were better, just that my school suits me, and I couldn't imagine being happier.

Ninja'd: My school is Anglican, so mainly Christian values, yeah - although I find that there are plenty of values shared across religions, and plenty of values which are important (to me) for atheists. Teachers never say 'God bless you', I think I've only heard the chaplain/principal say that at the most formal assemblies. As far as I know (because I've never done a reading in chapel) the chaplain picks a kind of theme for the service, and then the readings can be chosen by the student doing a reading or the chaplain recommends one.

[sje46]

I go to a non-denominational private school currently. Where I live, this is undoubtedly the best option because of the standard of the school, the general quality of the educators, and the supportive environment in which I am working in whilst at school.

Around where I live, all other schools are public and the students who attend these schools largely are uninterested in anything beyond sex, drugs, dropping out at age 16, and getting on the dole as soon as they can. It depresses me to note that the next generation of voters are going to be an uneducated bunch with little to no interest in anything political.

I believe that ultimately though, it is up to the individual student how well they do in school and whether or not they choose to apply themselves. Regardless of the school, the individual can make the most of it if they choose to, and ignore the way the rest of the masses are squandering their time.

edit; first post!!SHIFT!

Private schools must do a good job of teaching people not to stereotype too.
Not everybody who goes to public school does drugs, has sex, drops out when they are sixteen and goes on unemployment. These people are a minority and a present in every population, and the only reason why they are not in private school is that paying for them is most likely a waste of money--or money that they simply don't have.
Aren't you aware that more people are going to college now than in any other time in history? Do you honestly think our parents didn't make the same stupid decisions we do, nay, more? How could you suggest that we are an apolitical generation after the huge voter turnouts for president, with the daily show and the Internet making it all more accessible?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002542655_youth06.html

[zipper-chan]

I go to a non-denominational private school currently. Where I live, this is undoubtedly the best option because of the standard of the school, the general quality of the educators, and the supportive environment in which I am working in whilst at school.

Around where I live, all other schools are public and the students who attend these schools largely are uninterested in anything beyond sex, drugs, dropping out at age 16, and getting on the dole as soon as they can. It depresses me to note that the next generation of voters are going to be an uneducated bunch with little to no interest in anything political.

I believe that ultimately though, it is up to the individual student how well they do in school and whether or not they choose to apply themselves. Regardless of the school, the individual can make the most of it if they choose to, and ignore the way the rest of the masses are squandering their time.

edit; first post!!SHIFT!

Private schools must do a good job of teaching people not to stereotype too.
Not everybody who goes to public school does drugs, has sex, drops out when they are sixteen and goes on unemployment. These people are a minority and a present in every population, and the only reason why they are not in private school is that paying for them is most likely a waste of money--or money that they simply don't have.
Aren't you aware that more people are going to college now than in any other time in history? Do you honestly think our parents didn't make the same stupid decisions we do, nay, more? How could you suggest that we are an apolitical generation after the huge voter turnouts for president, with the daily show and the Internet making it all more accessible?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002542655_youth06.html

This is in Australia I am referring to, not in the United States, or England for that matter.
I have friends in the public education system, and I went to a public school for a time, so know what it is like at these schools. Around where I live most people my age are genuinely only interested in sex, drugs and taking advantage of the government in the future. This is quite honestly not that extreme of a generalisation.

The internet may be making information more accessible, but that doesn't necessarily mean people are taking advantage of this. Most youth seem to just use the internet purely for social networking.

How can more people be going to 'college' now? Australia has just now introduced a now grading system for entering university, making it all the more difficult, and this will only turn more and more people away from it in the future, in my opinion, as it is now even more inaccessible to the all but extremely gifted/wealthy, eventually leading to a gradually and gradually less educated generation.

[keeperofdakeys]

How can more people be going to 'college' now? Australia has just now introduced a new grading system for entering university, making it all the more difficult, and this will only turn more and more people away from it in the future, in my opinion, as it is now even more inaccessible to the all but extremely gifted/wealthy, eventually leading to a gradually and gradually less educated generation.

1. I'm not aware of the new grading system, and i'm going to uni next year
2. As far as I know Uni is put on a loan and is paid by small instalments as tax when your earning over a certain boundary in the future
3. people can always go to tafe if they can't go to uni and go to uni later in life

[Secateurs]

Re the new grading system: Are you referring to the one in Western Australia, or the whole Australian Certificate of Education? If you're from WA, how has it made it harder, in your opinion? I ask because my uni prospects haven't been affected by it, so I'm genuinely curious. The only difference I've noticed is that now people have no idea what I'm talking about when I say 'Maths 3AB' or 'Maths Specialist', because they used to be 'Intro Calc' or 'G and T'.

About stereotyping and types of students in private schools: I feel like I should mention here that there are a wide range of people (in our year at least), a couple of whom could easily fit the 'only interested in sex/drugs' scene. You're going to have people who have been forced to go there by their parents, and so resent the school for that. And you get plenty of other people - you could classify them as goths, nerds, athletes, etc. But the nice thing? We tend to mix together pretty well, even if we share little in common. There's not as much bitchiness as is often portrayed in movies.

[Pez Dispens3r]

This is in Australia I am referring to, not in the United States, or England for that matter.
I have friends in the public education system, and I went to a public school for a time, so know what it is like at these schools. Around where I live most people my age are genuinely only interested in sex, drugs and taking advantage of the government in the future. This is quite honestly not that extreme of a generalisation.

The internet may be making information more accessible, but that doesn't necessarily mean people are taking advantage of this. Most youth seem to just use the internet purely for social networking.

How can more people be going to 'college' now? Australia has just now introduced a now grading system for entering university, making it all the more difficult, and this will only turn more and more people away from it in the future, in my opinion, as it is now even more inaccessible to the all but extremely gifted/wealthy, eventually leading to a gradually and gradually less educated generation.

Public schools vary markedly in quality, so your opinion based on a few is hardly significant enough to damn them all. Never mind your own bias. And, yes, it is an extreme generalization and one that you would ultimately find to be baseless (unless you know for certain none of them play sport, or read magazines, or watch television).

Grading systems vary from state to state, so Australia didn't start a new grading system. Your state may have. But what evidence do you have that the changes make it harder to get into uni? A different grading system will simply choose for different qualities (perhaps to test for a more holistic type of knowledge, rather than just looking for solid rote learners). Besides, the trend these days is that more and more people are going on to tertiary education, and something drastic would have to change to reverse that trend.

Your unfounded ideas about how the youth use the internet are unfounded. They also use it for porn.

[Bearboy]

I go to a non-denominational private school currently. Where I live, this is undoubtedly the best option because of the standard of the school, the general quality of the educators, and the supportive environment in which I am working in whilst at school.

Around where I live, all other schools are public and the students who attend these schools largely are uninterested in anything beyond sex, drugs, dropping out at age 16, and getting on the dole as soon as they can. It depresses me to note that the next generation of voters are going to be an uneducated bunch with little to no interest in anything political.

Great that your Private school is helping you but the same can be said of my school. I'm a public school boy and yet my friends from primary school who went private for highschool fit your generalisation for public school students. Some asked me to buy them drugs from the dealers at my school, yet I don't know any of the dealers at my school or if any exist. Some go binge drinking and have paid me money to get them alcohol(Amazing how easy it is to get beer if you know a shifty bottle shop owner. And charging the pivate school idiots twice as much is all the sweeter, just don't tell them that:P). And they always seem to be talking about sex(Why do I need to know you had 7 wanks yesterday?) and getting laid. Although they won't be dropping out at 16 and living on welfare/dole they will be coasting through school thinking their private school education will get them ahead in life and at the moment living off their parents.

But then again this is just my situation and wouldn't be the same across the board.

[Ventanator]

Also, how often do they say something along the lines of "how God made us" or something like that?
Heck, even a teacher saying "God bless you" is going too far in my opinion.

Wow, that's taking it a bit far isn't it? I can understand the "how God made us" thing, to a degree anyway (like if it was a class that was actually talking about how the world/humanity came into being), but "God bless you"? That's just syntax! I understand the relegious part in it, but people just say it...they don't really mean "May our eternal Father forever bless you and may you go to our Heaven", they mean "Ha ha, I'm sorry baby! Here, have some sugar!"

I also don't agree with taking relegion completely out of schools. I agree that when a kid goes to a school where everybody is one thing (christian is obviously the most obvious) then that kid wants to be that too, it's human nature. But saying we should take it out completely isn't right...it shouldn't be taught (or it should at least be an elective that isn't even close to required and shouldn't have any prayer, human sacrafice, et cetera) but limiting speech to not include the word God is just...wrong.

Anyway, my beliefs on the whole subject of relegion in schools is probably biased because I am a southern white kid who goes to a public school that is 95% supposed Christians (in other words, those kids that just want to be like everybody else) that would freak out if somebody tried to tell us we couldn't say what we wanted. I love my school though. You don't have to be of any certain relegion, I'm not. I see those around me doing what they do, and I do what I do. It's all about the person I guess, but relegion in school certainly hasn't hurt anybody.
Meh, that was kinda off topic. My school (public) is pretty good. We have ~400 kids in my school and we all get along very well. It's small enough that even if you don't actually know the person, you know their name and what they're like (according to the other kids anyway), and I like that. We get a pretty good education, even comparing to the public schools around me.

About the homeschooling though. It's good for kids who are smart and don't need the school environment to be that way. The girl who should graduate top of our class was homeschooled until this year and she is, to put it modestly, a freaking super genius. She would have been anyway, but I'm sure that homeschool helped her...

Kinda rambling, but that's it...

[mochafairy]

As far as taking religion completely out of schools, you have to respect people's freedom of religion, whether they be mormon, christian, atheist, agnostic, muslim, jewish, or what have you. So long as teachers, students, staff, etc. aren't pushing it upon others, then let them be. It is as much a religious issue to allow a atheist club on a school as it is a christian one. "God bless you" when someone sneezes is a colloquialism. If it bugs you, let people around you know.

Enforcing an absence of religion is just as abhorrent as enforcing a presence of one.

[achan1058]

Also, how often do they say something along the lines of "how God made us" or something like that?
Heck, even a teacher saying "God bless you" is going too far in my opinion.

Wow, that's taking it a bit far isn't it? I can understand the "how God made us" thing, to a degree anyway (like if it was a class that was actually talking about how the world/humanity came into being), but "God bless you"? That's just syntax! I understand the relegious part in it, but people just say it...they don't really mean "May our eternal Father forever bless you and may you go to our Heaven", they mean "Ha ha, I'm sorry baby! Here, have some sugar!"

I agree. Taking away "God bless you" means taking away "God damn" and all similar use of God, hell, etc., and I prefer to have those to stay. I would really dislike it if they say anything about "how God made us", though, as that implies Creationism, possibly dressed up as Stupidity Design. Something that goes against all modern biology has no place in school, or in fact, no place on this planet. Good thing the only religions school I went to was in Hong Kong, and they wouldn't be stupid enough to push that stuff (or believe it for that matter, since Creationism is pretty much only restricted to southern United States).

[Savarin]

I personally found that a combination of the first two is fairly good.

Public school for Elementary and Middle gets their social skills developed. Then you stick them in a good college prep school for high school to make sure the core of their education is solid.

[zug]

What's with all the platypi responses and no corresponding discussion here? Are y'all people just anti-poll, or is there an option I hadn't covered originally?

[cathrl]

I went for "secular private education" because I think it's closer to the type of schools I've sent my kids to than "religious private education". I mean, my daughter's school really IS secular, but my son's has chapel and it provides choristers for the local college. But both teach ABOUT religion rather than teaching religious belief as scientific fact. I couldn't care less if a teacher says "God bless you." I don't believe in sheltering children from the idea that some people believe in God or other religious beings. His class now contains kids who are Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, Jewish and Christian (various denominations) and it's a class of 18.

Public school for Elementary and Middle gets their social skills developed. Then you stick them in a good college prep school for high school to make sure the core of their education is solid.

This was my intention. In the end, we moved my son to private school at 9 instead of 11 (our "switch to high school" age in the UK) because he was having a hellish time being bullied because he actually liked things like reading and learning and music and wasn't any good at football. My daughter was perfectly happy at the same state school until she was 11. It does very much depend on the child. Lack of contact with people who don't share our belief that academic achievement matters was a concern, but they both go to our local Scouts, which is about as big a social mix as you could hope for. (And has boys, to my daughter's joy )

A few reasons we went private, really (though in practice we went selective rather than private. If there were public academically selective schools near us, that's what we'd have gone for - especially if they were mixed rather than single sex. There aren't). Both were at the top of their classes while coasting to the point of idleness. That's not good for anyone, long-term - but it's difficult to seem like anything other than bully of the week if your attitude to a child who says "I was top again, I got 75%!" is "That's not a very high mark, what did you struggle with?" My daughter no longer gets 75% despite less nagging from me, because if she does she's near the bottom of the pile - and she doesn't like that. It's just a change in her attitude. She no longer has daily 'evidence' that she doesn't need to do any work to be brilliant.

I'd actually be better off financially if I homeschooled (their combined school fees are more than my salary). No way would I do it. My son would contentedly have no friends at all while working on high school maths, my daughter and I would be at war within a week because she'd do no work at all without competition, and I'd be bored to tears. It works for some families, but it wouldn't for mine.

FWIW, I went to a state comprehensive followed by an open-entry state sixthform. (And then to Oxford. Talk about culture shock.)

[Internetmeme]

I think that it depends on the school. From Kindergarten to 3rd grade I went to a Baptist private school. Then I went to public school. While today I almost certainly would not like all of the restrictions that are there (No hair below your eyebrows/collar, No non-classical music, etc...). It was extremely biased, but what are you going to do?

In my state, we were 26th in the 2006-2007 school year. SC isn't too bad or too good either way. The sad part is that the CP classes are just cheese, and most of the people in them aren't going to college (CP-College Prep), and the name is just there to make them feel better (like giving little Johnny a sticker even if he fails a test). CP is the average class. Then there's TP. It's the lowest level, and is filled with so many wannabe gangsters that there's at least one pound of <Insert drug here> at any given time present in that class. I'm in Honors classes. Those classes are challenging, and are exactly what I want. We also have AP, or Advanced Prep classes, which are literally college classes and count as credits for those classes. I can take Calculus AP and not have to take that in College, so taking these classes now saves a lot of money in the end. Then there's <Subject> 101. Those credits are only good in SC, whereas AP is acceptable in most college in the US. Also, the 101 classes are much easier and less of a challenge than AP, according to a teachers' aid (Read:Student who grades papers for a teacher) who helped out an AP and 101 teacher.

I would recommend a religous private school to give them some values early, and then switch over to either a secular stay with the private school or a public school, depending on the ratings. Some public schools around here are just swamped with all of these wannabe gangsters.

Edited. Apologies, I forgot how easy it is to offend people.

[Sasha]

...I would recommend a religous private school to give them some values early...

Are you saying that only religion can give people values? I, for one, was brought up in a nonreligious household, and did not learn of the concept of a religion until I was about 8. However, I am still a functional member of society and I have values and morals and whatnot.

I think that public schools are the way to go if your children have been raised correctly. Public schools teach them that they are not always going to get their way or be the "cool kid" or whatever, and that there are some real idiots and asses out there. If they are schooled in a friendly environment, they will not be adequately prepared for the hostile real world.